Like It Never Happened
by spheeris1
Summary: X/G :: Pick a season and set this story there... Xena regrets and yet does not regret her feelings for Gabrielle. :: I do not own these characters!


Like It Never Happened

The first time it happened, Xena told herself that it was the last time. The last kiss, the last touch, the last... just the **last. **Days went by and Xena would catch Gabrielle watching... Staring and pondering, trying to figure out how Xena could go from warrior to... to... _Seductress? Lover? A friend with benefits? _

Xena went from one polarity to the other with haste. She didn't sit and wonder why that need sprang up inside, she just closed her eyes and willed any thoughts about love, sex and Gabrielle from her mind. Like it never happened.

_But it did... _

Gabrielle is setting up camp for the night. She makes a comment about breakfast, the horses, a new poem... and other things, Gabrielle kind of things... Xena finds it all amusing. And nice. Gabrielle's voice is like home. The girl is so blindingly good.

_Hmmm, she is not quite a girl anymore, though..._

This thought does not startle Xena. In fact, she is pleased by the knowledge. Gabrielle has grown, from child to adult... From naive kid to a seasoned traveler. Gabrielle is the 'battling bard'. And she has seen her share of heartache...

_It would be nice to think that hardships don't have to happen to make you stronger, my dear friend... I wish you had not suffered so..._

Gabrielle smiles over and Xena smiles back. They do that a lot and Xena enjoys it. The connection that she feels to Gabrielle is magnetic. It can pull Xena up, make her do things she never thought possible. It is the reason she took the girl... _the woman _... in the first place.

_I look at you now, Gabrielle, and I cannot imagine life without you... Without you near, without your kindness and love..._

Xena stops her thinking for a moment and finds a new habit popping up once again. It did not used to happen, now... well, now it happens frequently. Gabrielle is sitting close and Xena leans into the girl... _**woman **_... Xena feels a now familiar buzz in her arm, in her thigh. Gabrielle leans as well. They settle against each other, more comfortable and...

_Not calm, I am not calm. It would be nice to be calm, instead of..._

Xena wants to halt that train of thought. It becomes difficult to do that with each passing day. Everything is fine and then Gabrielle grabs Xena's hand or runs her fingers though Xena's hair... and that feeling returns.

Before Xena can move and gain some distance, she senses Gabrielle's eyes on her. Xena is ready with words, anything to move away... anything to not let Gabrielle see what is going on. But those words never come out.

Something in those emerald eyes is different. They are darker all of a sudden, not from anger... Xena feels a barrier fall down inside of herself.

_It is desire in her eyes._

They move at the same time and it is not clumsy. It is not unsure. In fact, it is not hesitant at all. Xena hears a roar in her head, a pounding... not of pain... but of lust. Her hands find whatever holds on Gabrielle's clothing and unties, unwinds... And soft skin is there, waiting and eager.

Xena can feel a hint of a smile every time they kiss. And that makes Xena more on fire, biting Gabrielle's bottom lip, relishing the moan that elicits. Xena finds places that render Gabrielle motionless, her body taut as she accepts Xena's touch.

And then she is fluid again, moving like a wave against Xena's mouth, Xena's hands, Xena's thigh.

Xena exhales as she falls back and lets Gabrielle cover her, matching their bodies up like they were puzzle pieces. Gabrielle uses her tongue to cut a path down Xena's neck, to each breast... taking her time... to stomach...to...

_Dear Gods..._

All the pounding stops in Xena's head, rushing down her body and she cannot stop shaking, an animal like sound coming out of her mouth, drowning out the heartbeat and drowning out the words that come from Xena's lips.

_She keeps looking over. How can I explain to her? That to love me is dangerous? That to care for me is hard? _

Xena finds nowhere else to gaze where Gabrielle's eyes do not find her. She sees only compassion and love in those green depths.

_...I wonder if it is possible... for she and I..._

Gabrielle turns away and Xena feels another chunk of her resolve tumbling.


End file.
